How do I get a faster response to my email?

This is a question I get asked a lot when running courses in communication. It’s the answer many seek for years without ever finding a solution.

Jennie Marshall |
21 February 2013

This is a question I get asked a lot when running courses in communication. It’s the answer many seek for years without ever finding a solution.

Responsiveness is a critical life skill. In fact, I think it may
be the single most important factor to your success. People who are
not responsive miss out on many opportunities. Why? Because others
get tired of waiting for them.

But, let's be honest - not everyone I deal with shares this
value.

Or, even if they give lip service to it, they don't practice it in
daily life.

And so, you wait. And wait.

Meanwhile, your own work stacks up and you look unresponsive to
your colleagues.

It would be great if you never had to deal with these people. The
problem is that sometimes "these people" include your boss, a
colleague you don't have authority over, or an important customer.
How do you get them to respond to you in a timely manner?

Here are ten strategies that I have found helpful in the past:

Put their name in the 'To' field.
This should
be obvious, but if you want a response from a specific individual,
put that person's name in the 'To' field and that person's
namealone.If there is more than one name, he or she might assume
that one of the others will answer. Also, never use the CC field
for any purpose other than FYI.

Double-check the email address.
A few months
ago, one of my friends wasn't getting a response from one of her
customers. He said, "I've emailed him five times." I was a little
irritated myself as this was a common problem, so I said, "Forward
me your last email, and I'll have a read to see if there is any
other direction you need to give." When I got the email, I noticed
that my friend had one character missing in the email address of
the company. I asked suggested he resend the original email with
the correct address. The customer responded within the hour.

Write a relevant subject line.
Think of the
subject line like the headline of a newspaper. The goal is to get
them to actually read the body copy. The more specific you can make
it, the better. For example, if you are sending me a meeting
agenda, don't just put "Agenda" in the subject line. I get lots of
agendas. Instead, put something like "Agenda for June 10th
Department Meeting."

Put your question at the top.
Writing a good
email is like writing a good blog post or magazine article. As they
say, "don't bury the lead." Put the most important content (the
"lead") in thevery first paragraph.Don't assume that the recipient
will read beyond that. You can use the rest of the email to provide
support or background information.

Keep your message short.
Long emails only
encourage procrastination. Think of your own behaviour. What
happens when you get a long email? Right. You save it for later.
Unfortunately, many people never get around to "later." If you keep
the message short, you make it easy for the other person to digest
what you have said and respondnow.

Use the high priority flag.
You have to be
careful with this, because if you use it with every message, people
will "brand you" as someone who always cries "Wolf!" However, if
you use this sparingly, it can communicate urgency. You can also
begin the subject line with the word "Urgent," a colon, and then
your subject. For example, "Urgent: About to Miss the Project
Deadline."

Offer multiple choices.
Make it easy on the
reader. Narrow the range of options down to two or three and then
ask them to pick one. For example, "Which hotel do you prefer for
our upcoming trip to London: (1) the Marriott, (2) the Holiday Inn,
or (3) the Hilton?" After you ask the question, you can provide the
backup on each hotel.

Provide a deadline.
This makes your
expectations clear, so the reader is less likely to procrastinate.
I would advise against providing an artificial or bogus deadline.
If the other person discovers that the deadline was not real, your
credibility will be damaged. They will never take your deadlines
seriously again. Instead, provide the specific date and time. For
example, "by noon tomorrow (Thursday)" or "by 5:00 p.m. on Friday,
March 7th."

Use a "negative option.
"When all else fails,
this is the strategy I use. Here's how it works: you tell the
person what you are going to dounlessyou hear back from them by a
certain time. This makes their response optional. For example,
"Unless you reply by noon tomorrow, I will assume that the proposal
meets with your approval and send it on to the client."

Copy their boss.
This is dangerous, I know.
The person may respond, but they will likely also resent it. I
never do this unless I am out of options, and I can't get a
response any other way. Before you use this strategy, you need to
consider the collateral damage to the relationship. However, there
are times when you have no other choice.

Knowing how to
communicate on email
for
maximum effect is a useful skill. A skill that
people using email on a daily basis should have in their standard
repertoire. Try some of my ideas - I can't guarantee success, but
at least you'll be doing everything in your control to get a
reply.

Finally, maybe you shouldn't be using email at all. I know it's
hard to believe, but not everyone prefers email. If the person
isn't responding, why keep banging your head against the proverbial
wall? Instead, call them on the phone, or drop by for a visit, or
use social media if you're connected. Wow, imagine what it was like
when we actually had to talk to people!

Jennie Marshall

Learning Programme Director (Enterprise and Outsource Services)

Jennie Marshall is an award winning learning professional (Winner of the 2016 Learning Performance Institute, Learning Professional of the Year Bronze Award), who joined QA in 2010 as a Learning Consultant in the Leadership, Management and Business Skills team. She has gone on to progress through various positions to her current role of Learning Programme Director where she now designs, develops and manages the delivery of end to end learning programmes. She is an experienced and dedicated learning professional, with expertise including management, leadership and talent, and training and facilitation developed within a variety of environments. Jennie has a proven track record of delivering blended, multi modal learning programmes using Learning Management System platforms and in a more traditional face to face setting, is at home with small and large audiences. She is a proven developer of people and is accredited in the use of a variety of tools including Strength Deployment Inventory®, Emergenetics®, Hogan®, Prism® and Worldsview™ as well as being an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Master Practitioner and Kirkpatrick Certified Professional (Bronze).

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